


Here There Be Unicorns

by CloakedSparrow



Series: Collected Bat-Family Stories [9]
Category: DCU (Comics), Detective Comics (Comics), Robin (Comics), Superboy (Comics), Young Justice (Comics)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Friendships, Friendship/Love, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mythical Beings & Creatures, No Romance, No Sex, No Smut, One Shot, Serious Injuries, TFFW, Virginity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23045743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloakedSparrow/pseuds/CloakedSparrow
Summary: When one of Young Justices early missions goes wrong, Tim makes an unexpected discovery.Or maybe more than one.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Tim Drake & Kon-El | Conner Kent
Series: Collected Bat-Family Stories [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/734523
Comments: 34
Kudos: 351





	Here There Be Unicorns

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on the Young Justice comics, not the animated series.  
> This story is part of a series but should read well on its own.

If one were only watching Tim’s face, they would only see calm focus.

They wouldn’t see that his legs were straddling a small rocket that was screaming across the sky at breakneck speed somewhere high above South America. 

They wouldn’t see the line of his grapple tied around his chest and shoulders to create a makeshift harness that attached to the grapple stuck into said rocket to help him stay on it. 

They wouldn’t see his upper arms stuffed uncomfortably into a small hole made by a panel he’d cut and bent to access the interior mechanics of the dangerous vehicle he was strapped to. 

They wouldn’t see his fingers, hidden inside the deathtrap, feeling and cutting wires to stop the trigger connected to the volatile explosives inside. 

They wouldn’t see the numerous small explosions that were occurring in the airspace he was leaving behind as his friends fought off the drones that were trying to ensure the bomb inside the rocket made it to its intended destination.

To Tim, none of this would be worth pointing out either. After all, it was just another day as Robin, the Boy Wonder. 

He released a small sigh of relief when he successfully disassembled the trigger with fourteen seconds left on the countdown. It was the only reprieve he allowed himself before turning his focus to the next problem at hand.

He turned on his comm, which was linked up to his friends. 

“Okay, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is the bomb and the targeting system have been disabled. The bad news is the rocket will still eventually crash down and explode upon impact unless we prevent that from happening. Kon-El, can you get over here to take this thing somewhere safe?”

“No problem, just let me-” The sound of a small explosion and a screeching drone cut in before Conner spoke again with his usual bravado. “Okay that’s taken care of. On it, Robin. I’ll take it out of Earth’s atmosphere just to be safe.”

Tim pressed the pieced he’d removed back into place to keep the rocket more aerodynamic for Conner. “Cool. Wonder Girl? Are you nearby? ‘Cause I can’t leave the Earth’s atmosphere and I can’t free-fall to an altitude where I’ll be able to use a grapple from this height or I’ll pass out along the way.”

There was a brief pause while Cassie translated that from ‘teenage vigilante’ to ‘normal teenager’. “So basically you’re gonna either suffocate or fall to your death? Yeah, on my way.”

Conner grabbed hold of the rocket and held it and Tim steady while slowly carrying them upward as his best friend freed himself from his makeshift harness and made sure he was good to let go. They had their comms switched off so he was only talking to Tim. “Mention that problem _first_ next time, Tim. I might’ve just grabbed the rocket and taken off without thinking and what would you’ve done if Cassie wasn’t nearby?”

Tim simply shrugged. “There’s plenty of sky between us and the ground. We would’ve thought of something. Besides, this thing can take out an entire country below us. That’s a much bigger priority.” 

“Speak for yourself.” Conner smirked at his friend. “Keeping you alive is a pretty big priority for the rest of us.”

“And I appreciate that.” Tim grinned. Being the only member of the team without any powers could be difficult at times, but with his friends, he never felt like he wasn’t pulling his weight or was being left behind. He always appreciated that they gave him space to use his skills and listened when he had something to contribute, but also remembered that he was much more fragile than they were. It was a difficult balance, not being too dismissive or coddling, demanding or neglectful, but they pulled it off. He would never be able to thank them enough for that. 

He wanted to point out one thing though. “But its not like I just let go and plummeted to the ground. I did ask.” He was aware Batman had put his teammates in the terrifying position of having to come to his aid while he was in mid-fall more than once. He never wanted to do that to his friends if it could be helped.

“True.” Conner nodded. He’d heard about Batman’s tendency to expect action without explanation from Superman. He’d even made a point to tell Tim he appreciated that he was more considerate and pragmatic than his mentor. “Definitely better than the alternatives. And its not like its your fault we didn’t have time to take care of it on the ground.” 

In truth, they hadn’t learned about the bomb until it had already been launched. Fortunately, the bad guy behind it felt the need to send a message to taunt his target, a small laboratory hidden in Ecuador. The taunt had been picked up by Red Tornado, who was able to send Young Justice after it while he attended to some Justice League business he was called out to at the same time. 

Tim was grateful that so many supervillains either needed their ego’s stroked or otherwise weren’t very bright, since it usually gave them an unexpected warning or time to regroup and plan. Still, he never quite understood why more of them didn’t try to put their grand schemes into play in a more clandestine manner. If he were going to try to take out a villain’s base, he wouldn’t advertise it first. If he got caught doing so, he certainly wouldn’t start explaining his _actual_ plans to said villain. He was all for fair play, but he wasn’t about to give an enemy such an advantage. Especially the types of enemies he usually had to deal with.

“Speaking of the ground.” Tim opened the comms again to address their other teammate on the mission. “Impulse, we can start leading the drones away from populated areas now. We still need to try to keep the area below us clear since some are bound to crash down. How’s the evac going?”

“That’s-great-guys-I’m-almost-done-I-think-I-just-gotta-check-a-couple-buildings -hey, hot dogs!- and-then-we-should-be-good-oh-there’s-an-old-lady-in-there.” There was a _very_ brief pause before Bart spoke again. “’Kay-she’s-fine-now-anyone-want-a-hot-dog?”

Cassie was the only one to respond to the offer. “We’re a little busy!”

“Okay-yeah-but- _I_ -need-food-if-I’m-gonna-keep-runnin’-around-at-this-speed-ooh-there's-a-dog-I'm-gonna-pet-it-hey-where's-your-owner-little-guy? Oh-there-he-is!”

“He has a point.” Tim commented to the others. “On the food thing. With his metabolism, he needs to keep eating if we’re gonna ask him to do things like evacuate an entire region with little support.”

Conner was wearing a small frown. “Yeah, Impulse, eat if you need to, but maybe go just a little slower when you’re carrying old people. They’re brittle.” He looked concerned for a second and then quickly hit the comms again. “No one tell my grandparents I said that.”

Tim grinned again. He knew Martha Kent would likely tease Conner a little, but ultimately be glad he was respecting his elders and probably reward his consideration with cookies or pie. Meanwhile Jonathan Kent would have them out in the fields all day to show his grandson what he could still do at his age. “No problem.”

“Gotcha-SB-and-I-think-we-got-everybody-clear-from-fallin’-debris-now-Rob-I’m-just-gonna-run-a-quick-sweep-to-check.” Bart answered. “Think-the-dog-would-want-a-hot-dog-or-would-that-be-weird?”

“You might want to ask his owner first, but dogs usually like hot dogs.” Tim had never had a dog, but he always liked animals and he’d seen plenty of dogs begging for the meat treats at parks before. Some were even happily given a bite.

Meanwhile, Cassie laughed. “I dunno, Superboy, seeing you get schooled on what ‘brittle old people’ can do might be fun.”

“But then I might get grounded or held up at the farm for days.” Conner’s smirk was evident in his voice. “Why would you want to deprive yourself of my company for that long?”

Much like Conner’s smirk, Cassie’s unimpressed expression was clear in her tone. “Gee, let me think.”

Tim looked down and saw that she was close enough to see him. He offered a small wave and then looked back at Conner once it was returned. “Okay, I’m gonna let go now. You got this?”

“Yep.” Conner shifted so his body wasn’t bracing Tim against the rocket anymore. “I’ll toss it into the sun and then come back.”

Tim nodded. Looking down to make sure Cassie was in a good position for him to drop toward her, he also noticed that the drones were still swarming around the area. “The drones don’t seem to be giving up. Watch out for them.”

Conner looked slightly more serious as he noticed that, too. “You, too.”

Tim let go and used his legs to push himself away from the rocket. Once he was clear, Conner flew off at superspeed with the rocket firmly in his grip, incinerating a couple drones along the way. Meanwhile, Tim flipped in the air and then spread out his arms as he fell, until he passed Cassie and one of her hands caught his arm. He slipped down until she was gripping his wrist and he swiftly clasped both of his hands around hers. 

“Gotcha!” She smiled as she caught him. Then raised her free hand to block a drone’s fire with one of her bracers. 

Tim freed one hand to throw a Robin-star at the drone. He was able to cut through his power supply and it promptly began tumbling down to Earth. “Man, these things just won’t give up.”

“I know, right?” Cassie punched one out of the sky with her free hand while Tim took out two others with some expanding foam pellets. “The bomb is gone. They lost. Why can’t they just be good losers and go away?”

Tim tossed another Robin-star to take out another drone that was closing in on them. “Plus if they started retreating we could get a tracker on one to find out where they’re coming from a lot faster.”

Cassie caught the damaged drone and threw it at another one as she steered them away from any populated areas. “You’re already thinking of how to bring the mastermind down?” 

“I’m a detective.” Tim couldn’t shrug in his current position, but his tone made his unbothered temperament clear all the same. “Its kind of what we do.” He tossed a few of the rubber pellets he carried for non-lethal henchmen knockouts and took out a couple more drones.

“Still, can’t you just enjoy the progress we’re making?” Cassie casually blocked some more fire as she spoke. She also began flying gradually lower, so as not to harm Tim while taking him to the ground. “I mean, you just disabled a bomb that was gonna destroy…uh, which country was it headed for? South American geography isn’t my strong suit.”

“Ecuador.” Tim frowned as he and his friend kept taking out the drones while flying through the sky above some lush rain forest. They were heading further from Bolivia, fortunately. Between that and Bart evacuating the nearest towns, the falling drones wouldn’t do much harm any longer. “Which is kind of odd. I mean, there are bigger targets than- watch out!”

The fire Cassie had just blocked with her bracer ricocheted and struck another drone. That would normally be a good thing, except that the damaged drone ended up crashing into two others that were now careening toward Cassie’s head. She struck one and dodged another, which ended up cutting into Tim’s arm, causing his grip to briefly loosen at the sharp pain. Blood also splattered over the lenses of his mask, blocking his vision. He quickly wiped it off with his free hand so he could see. At the same time, the initially damaged drone caught in Cassie’s wig, yanking her to the side and causing her grip on Tim to slip. 

The next thing he knew, Tim was falling hundreds of feet towards the Earth.

“Robin!” Cassie grabbed the drone to toss it off her, but quickly had to deal with three more that seemed set on making a last ditch effort in taking her down. 

Tim spread out his limbs and cape to slow his descent as much as was possible. He did his best to keep his breathing slow and even. The sudden changes in altitude and pressure were getting to him quickly. He saw Cassie looking for him from up above and heard Conner’s and Cassie’s voices through the comms that were cutting in and out as he struggled to remain conscious. 

“Hey, _zzz_ I miss? What’s wrong?”

“ _zz_ lost him!”

“What do you mean? Lost _zz_? Wait where’s- _zzz_?”

“Robin!”

“ _Robin_!”

Either his comm cut out or Tim simply couldn’t hear anything else above the wind ripping at him. His head began to pound. Then he grew lightheaded. His limbs began to feel cold and numb. 

Then everything faded to black. 

As awareness returned, so did a fair amount of pain. His arm hurt and would certainly need some stitches. He felt the slight sense of weakness that came with a fair deal of blood loss. There was a sharp, throbbing pain in his shoulder, as if it had been injured from being jostled too roughly. He’d clearly broken some ribs on one side. His head was throbbing and he felt like he had a decent case of whiplash.

All in all not bad considering the fact that he should have died upon impact with the ground. Or either been skewered onto a tree or simply broken his neck somewhere along the way. As long as a drone didn't come along and finish him off, Tim was definitely going to count this one as a win for the team.

Remembering the drones and realizing he wasn’t aware of what had transpired with them, Tim decided he needed to move. He groaned quietly as he shifted to brace himself to sit up so he could bandage his arm. The movement caused him to realize he was resting on something soft and squishy. Lifting himself with his uninjured arm, he discovered that he was laying on a bed of very thick moss, long grass, and fallen leaves. Looking around, he saw that he was in a clearing in an otherwise dense rain forest. 

While the location made sense, considering where he’d been when he fell, his current condition didn’t. Not unless someone had saved him after he blacked out. 

One person came to mind immediately, of course. 

“Con?” Tim forced himself to stand. He pulled a bandage strip out of his utility belt as he looked around. He didn’t see any sign of his friends. He also couldn’t hear them or any sign of fighting nearby. He could hear birds singing, frogs chirping, insects humming, and an odd sort of nickering coming from the treeline near him. 

Otherwise, he seemed to be alone. 

Whether that was because one of his friends had saved him and then had to leave to finish off the drones or because it _hadn’t_ been one of his friends who saved him, he couldn’t say. He shifted himself to brace for a possible attack as he began wrapping the bandage around his forearm to staunch the bleeding. “Hello?”

The nickering grew louder, until what looked like a horse yearling stepped out of the treeline. Except that the yearling was pure white with golden hooves and had massive, fluffy wings stretching out from behind it’s shoulders. 

Tim blinked. The pegasus remained. It trotted up to him, tossing it’s head and nickering once more. He slowly reached out a hand and the creature quickly nuzzled it and swished it’s tail.

Tim released a short, quiet laugh. He’d had no idea that pegasi existed. He supposed he shouldn’t find it all that surprising. His best friend was an alien clone and his other friends were a metahuman from the future who was born connected to the Speed Force and a demigod blessed with gifts from her father, Zeus. Still, he hadn’t really considered which other beings he was taught were mere myth might actually be real as well. He rarely had time for such thoughts. 

He hadn’t considered that the creature happily nuzzling his hand might be real, but he found himself strangely happy to learn that it was. 

“Hey.” He pet it’s head. Then pet along it’s neck when it seemed to enjoy the action. That was when he noticed a smear of blood along the creature’s side. He was immediately concerned. “Are you hurt?”

Tim grabbed a handful of long, soft grass and groomed the pegasus’ fur in hopes of getting a look at the wound. Instead he found that there wasn’t one. The blood was from another source. He looked down at his injured, roughly bandaged arm. If he were to drape himself over the animal’s back, the bloodstain would have matched up to his dangling, wounded arm perfectly. 

He offered the creature a small smile and another pet. “I guess I have you to thank for me not being a stain on the ground, huh?”

The young pegasus nickered again and then hopped around Tim like an excited fawn. 

While he was watching the happy pegasus, Tim suddenly felt a gentle tug on his cape. He turned, half expecting to see Batman there somehow, since that was usually the only person to sneak up behind him like that. Instead, was faced with another surprising sight.

Gazing at him was another dazzling white creature with equine-like features. Only this one had large eyes and ears, cloven hooves, a soft goatee, and a tail with short hairs on the dock and long curls flowing down from it, similar to a zebra’s. It also had a long, slender horn spiraling out of it’s forehead. 

Tim was face to face with a real, live unicorn. It looked just like the ones he’d seen depicted in tapestries from the Middle Ages. 

It was beautiful. 

And it was coming very close to him. 

“Uh, hi?”

Tim had read that people once believed unicorns had some affinity with virgin maidens and would only interact with them. He’d also heard legends that the creatures were fierce fighters who were the most dangerous beasts around, capable of taking down armored men and full-grown elephants alike. Still others described them as gentle healers, who could cure wounds and cleanse poisons with their horns. Since the creatures actually existed, he wasn’t sure which description was true or if they all were, depending on the circumstances of an encounter. 

Tim was a virgin but he wasn’t a maiden. However he _was_ a wounded animal lost in the forest. As such, he figured this encounter could really go either way. The creature didn’t show any signs that would indicate an oncoming attack in any other animal. Tim hoped it could tell he wasn’t a threat, at least.

The unicorn sniffed at Tim and then gazed at him serenely, offering a slow, tranquil blink. Meanwhile, the pegasus stepped away and began playing with a coconut that had fallen on the ground. Then the unicorn sniffed at the bandage covering Tim’s arm. It promptly began to rub its muzzle against the injured limb. 

Tim moved to step back smoothly when the action caused his wound to shift painfully. “Hey, that hurts.”

The unicorn moved with him, determined to continue the action. He covered his injured arm with his other hand and forearm. “What are you-?” When he moved to step back again, he felt something gently press against his injured shoulder. He stopped immediately at the sharp pain it caused anyway.

Turning his head, he saw another unicorn. This one looked just like the first, except its horn was a soft gray, and it appeared to be inspecting his shoulder. It quickly began trying to rub its face and muzzle against the wounded limb as well. Tim tried shifting away, but he didn’t want to hurt or frighten the creatures and he wasn’t in a good position to block himself from both animals. 

Suddenly, both unicorns’ horns started shimmering. Tim paused. Magic wasn’t his strong suit -truth in fact, he was still convinced it was simply a form of science he didn’t yet understand- but he’d seen enough to recognize that the unicorns were using some sort of magical (or possibly metafauna) ability. 

He braced himself and let the unicorns rub and nuzzle his injured shoulder and forearm. It hurt a lot at first, but then something began to happen. He felt a strange warmth over both injuries and the pain began to ease. The unicorn rubbing his wounded forearm was definitely the rougher of the two, pressing so firmly that it was rubbing the bandage right off his arm. However, the bleeding appeared to have slowed considerably, so Tim didn’t try to halt the creature again. He watched in fascination as a strange, fine, shimmery dust seemed to rub off the creature to coat his wounded arm, staunching the bleeding entirely.

Yet another unicorn stepped out of the forest to join its compatriots in whatever ritual they were performing. This one sniffed at Tim and offered the same calm gaze and slow blink before rubbing its muzzle against his injured ribs. Again, the action aggravated the injury at first, but quickly began to make it feel better as the unicorn’s horn began to shimmer before it likewise released the shimmering dust onto his side. 

Watching the one on his side, Tim saw that the shimmering on the horn was fluid but not liquid. It was as if the unusual appendage was producing the fine, shimmering powder in waves that flowed down the spiral of the horn and into the creatures fur. It then followed gravity down the creature’s face until it reached it’s muzzle, where the unicorn could rub the dust-like substance against his injured ribs. As it worked the shimmery dust through his suit, it truly felt as though it were helping him heal. If nothing else, it was a very effective pain killer. 

Tim’s shoulder already felt pain-free and the unicorn that had been nuzzling it shifted to rub its nose against the back of his neck. Very quickly, the pain from his whiplash began to subside as well. Moving his shoulder carefully, Tim still felt no pain. He’d be sure to check it out before trying anything too strenuous, but it was as though the injury had truly healed. He shifted his other arm to carefully pet the muzzle of the unicorn behind him. It responded by running the full length of its face against his neck in a long stroke, almost as though petting him in return.

The unicorn tending to his arm pressed against it more forcefully, then pinned it’s ears back and gripped the torn edge of his glove with it’s lips, tugging as though annoyed. Tim slipped the glove off and the unicorn returned to working the shimmery dust onto his wounded forearm. He arched a brow as he watched the beautiful but very pushy creature. He wondered if the animal was healing him because that’s just what unicorn’s did, if it somehow recognized that he was trying to do good and wanted to reinforce that, or if it was somehow bothered by the wound and simply wanted it gone. 

He’d never heard about unicorns coming out of the woodwork to help other, grander, heroes, so he assumed there was something about this specific instance that had drawn the creatures out of hiding. Perhaps he’d simply fallen into the right place at the right time. Or maybe the young pegasus had forced their hand by saving him and bringing him there. 

He looked at the creature in question and it stopped following around the coconut to give him a low nicker and head bob. Tim held out his uninjured arm toward it. Once again, it pranced over to get some affection, which he happily provided.

After enjoying the affection for a moment, the pegasus suddenly released a high, cheerful whinny and began rocking its head toward the treeline it had originally appeared from. Just as Tim turned his focus to the trees, a full grown pegasus stepped into the clearing. She stood a good six feet at the withers. Her massive wings were folded against her sides and appeared to shimmer, similar to the unicorns’ horns. The tip of her long, flowing tail brushed against the grass as she walked. 

She tossed her head and nickered at the younger pegasus, which came to her and nuzzled her face. The mother pegasus (or at least, that’s what Tim assumed she was) returned the warm gesture and then quickly began grooming the yearling, finishing the job Tim had started in removing his blood from it’s fur. 

While the unicorns were apparently healing Tim and the mother pegasus was grooming her offspring, Tim took in more of the surrounding rain forest. In doing so, he noticed the occasional iridescent gleam coming from within the branches of the surrounding trees and among the flowers. These grew in brightness and frequency until a particular one parted the leaves and out came a tiny green humanoid creature with long, iridescent wings. It was carrying what appeared to be a tiny sack made from tiny strips of palm frond. 

Apparently, pixies were also real. 

Tim was learning all kinds of things about the world that day. 

The pixie approached the mother pegasus and made a light, chirping sound by the creature’s ear. The pegasus made no notable movement or sound, but the pixie flew up to one of it’s wings and began using it’s tiny hand to brush some of the shimmery dust off the fine feathers and into it’s sack. Soon, several other pixies of various colors emerged from hiding and were likewise harvesting the shimmery dust. Some had also brought sacks made from palm fronds or leaves while others had tiny containers made from empty seed shells. Yet others simply seemed to give their own wings some sort of dust bath in the fine, shimmery powder. 

The mother pegasus appeared to pay the pixies no more mind than a shark pays a remora. She simply continued grooming and nuzzling her offspring, unbothered by the show of commensalism.

That was, until a pixie approached one of the younger pegasus’ wings. Then, the mother pegasus used her long tail to swat the creature away from her yearling at lighting speed. It fell into the treeline and didn’t return. Clearly catching the hint, none of the other pixies approached the yearling and they all quickly left with their containers full of pegasus dust.

Meanwhile, the unicorns that had been coating Tim’s neck and side in the shimmery dust they produced gave his head a brief rub before stepping back. He smiled and carefully moved to pet the nearest one. It was the one that had been ‘treating’ his ribs. The creature likewise rubbed its muzzle against his hand as though returning the affection. 

“Thank you.” Tim looked from one mythical creature to the next. “I’d be in pretty bad shape if it weren’t for all of you.”

He moved his hand to carefully stroke the mane of the unicorn that was still determinedly rubbing its face against his wounded arm. The creature paused, then raised it’s head slightly to meet the gentle stroke. 

“Hey.” He spoke gently, coaxing the creature to lift it’s head. It looked at him with that same calm stare from before. “It doesn’t have to be perfect. You’ve already helped enough. Thank you.

“If it’s bugging you, I can go. I should find my friends anyway.” Now that Tim was in a condition to move, he figured it was time he started trying to find his way out of there. He was worried that he wasn’t seeing or hearing any signs of the fight he’d left behind. It might have meant his friends were done with the drones, but then he’d expect at least one of them to be looking for him. The fact that he hadn’t seen or heard any sign of them either meant something else had gone wrong or they assumed he was dead already. 

Except that Conner definitely wasn’t the type to give up without finding a body, yet Tim wasn’t seeing or hearing any sign of his best friend looking for him. Even if they _weren’t_ looking for him, Tim still didn’t want any of his friends to be upset. He certainly didn’t want any of them to feel guilty and he knew if he’d been in Cassie’s place, he would definitely be feeling that way at present. He also was worried that the fight might not have been as close to over as it appeared the last he saw. “They might need me.”

The unicorn continued to watch him and gave another slow, tranquil blink. 

Not sure if it was sort of a unicorn equivalent of _aloha_ or something, Tim returned the gesture. 

The unicorn nuzzled his hand once more in response, then suddenly turned its head to look behind it. The other animals each raised their heads to look as well. 

Suddenly, Conner’s voice drifted into the clearing, sounding as though it were coming from down a long tunnel or deep hole. “Robin!” He sounded more panicked than Tim had ever heard him.

Despite not wanting to frighten the creatures that had helped him, Tim couldn’t help but call back to his best friend. “Over here, Con!” 

The mother pegasus curled a wing around her baby and guided it out of the clearing. It offered one final nicker as it followed it’s mother’s guidance. The unicorns each gave Tim one last nuzzle and then trotted off into the rain forest as well. 

“Robin?” Conner’s voice didn’t sound so oddly distant or replicated that time. “Where-?” His friend must have spotted him with his supervision then, because he interrupted himself with an equally relieved and worried shout. “Tim!”

Conner broke through the treeline as though it were a mountainside. He immediately was in front of Tim and quickly had his arms around him. “Shit, I’m glad you’re okay! I thought-”

He swiftly stepped back and looked Tim over, as if just remembering that his friend was likely injured. He frowned when he took in his appearance. “You’re okay? Why are you all shimmery? What is that?”

Tim realized saying he’d been rescued by a pegasus and then healed by unicorns would probably sound like he’d suffered a head injury. Especially after that fall. However, he figured it would be better to try the truth with Conner before he tried it with Bruce or Dick. His friend was much more likely to believe him and not at all likely to question whether he’d cracked after one too many Rogue encounters. “Uh, its part of why I’m okay…”

Rather than follow up on that right away, Conner seemed more interested in something else he noticed. 

“You’re bleeding.” He immediately lifted Tim’s arm and carefully pushed up his torn, bloodstained, and unicorn dusted sleeve. The wound underneath was shimmering, but otherwise clean and scabbed over. It looked as though the injury had occurred a week before instead of mere moments ago. Conner’s gaze took on the look of intense concentration it gained whenever he was using his still-inexperienced x-ray vision. His focused gaze traveled up Tim’s arm. His brows drew in slightly in confusion when they landed on his previously injured shoulder. 

He didn’t stop to comment on whatever he saw though. Instead, Conner’s focused gaze continued up Tim’s neck to his face, then back down as he began taking in the other boy’s body. He frowned lightly when he saw Tim’s ribs, which moments ago had been broken but now felt mended. 

After he finished looking his friend over, Conner’s gaze returned to normal as his eyes fixed on Tim’s. “Okay, what did I miss?” He motioned over Tim’s most recent injuries. “You weren’t injured when we started sparring at HQ earlier, I checked. So there’s no way your ribs or arm were already like this…but the healing is _weeks_ along. Your shoulder looks like your rotary cuff has been torn and healed at some point, even though it wasn’t like that earlier either. 

“And that’s where most of whatever that shimmery stuff is.” He met Tim’s eyes again. “What happened?”

Tim thought back to what he guessed his friend already knew. “Uh, well I can only speculate what happened while I was falling-”

Conner’s expression immediately changed to one of internalized frustration. “With the drones up top, then the clouds, and then the trees… We lost you, Tim. I was looking _everywhere_. Even with my supervision and hearing, _I couldn’t find you_. We all-”

“Con, its okay.” Tim gripped his friend’s shoulder as he interrupted. “It isn’t anyone’s fault. I _know_ you’d never give up on me. You’d never ignore me in trouble like that. I know you did everything you could.”

Conner looked his friend in the eyes for a long moment, then took a deep breath and nodded. He looked less frustrated, but more upset. “Hearing you were falling but then not being able to find you… I thought-” He swallowed and looked Tim over once more as if assuring himself he was okay. “I thought we lost you.”

“You didn’t.” Tim figured the reassurance would be appreciated even if it was bit redundant with them both standing a mere arms-length apart. If their positions had been reversed, he’d probably need it. 

He grinned at his friend. “As far as I can tell, a young pegasus caught me in the air and brought me down here.”

Conner blinked. “Seriously?” He seemed more surprised to be hearing that a pegasus existed and happened to show up when his friend needed a Hail Mary pass rather than doubting Tim’s sanity or clarity of mind. 

Tim nodded, smiling at the fact that his friend wasn’t questioning _him_. “And it gets crazier from there. The dust you asked about? Its from unicorns and I’m pretty sure its why I’ve healed so much in a matter of minutes.”

Conner looked at him for a moment in stunned silence. Then he looked over the strange, shimmery dust that was covering a fair amount of him. Finally, he released a short laugh and shook his head. “Only you, Tim. This kind of thing only happens to you.”

That was a bit rich coming from a cloned human-Kryptonian hybrid, but Tim could tell his friend was mainly relieved. And a little amazed by what he’d learned. He wasn’t offended anyway. He knew he attracted a fair amount of crazy these days.

Conner smiled. “For once, I’m glad you attract that kind of crazy, though. We were s-” Suddenly, his eyes widened slightly. “Shit! I need to tell Bart and Cassie I found you.”

He activated his comm-link. “Guys, I found him! I- Yeah, I- No- Shut up and listen for a sec.” Conner rolled his eyes at Tim even as he smiled. “He’s okay.

“No, I mean _okay_ , okay. No medic needed.” Conner scoffed and smirked as he responded to whatever was said next. “Don’t sound so surprised, its _Robin_.”

While Tim could hear Conner speaking in front of him as he reported to their friends, he couldn’t hear anything over his comm-link. He tapped it, then took it out of his ear. He figured it had been damaged in either the fight or the fall. That was fine. He had more and could make more still. 

Noting that Tim was inspecting his comm-link, Conner quickly added a comment to their friends. “Guys, he can’t hear you right now. His comm is down. I’ll bring him over there. Okay?”

Tim picked up his glove and the fallen bandage then took a quick look around to make sure he hadn’t dropped anything else. Between the usual animals in the rain forest and now knowing there were some extra special ones hiding out in there, he didn’t want to leave anything that might disturb the local fauna or flora. 

Thinking of the way the creatures he’d seen had stayed hidden for so long, Tim considered something else. He turned to his friend as he pulled his glove on. “Con?”

“Hmm?” Conner had also been looking around once he recognized what Tim was doing, but he immediately looked at his friend upon hearing his name. He frowned when he saw the thoughtful and slightly concerned expression on Tim’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to tell anyone about this.” He looked around the clearing. There was no sign of the mystical beings he’d just encountered. “I think they’re trying to stay hidden. I don’t want to out them. I don’t want to chance bringing any harm to them.” 

Even if only the Justice League knew, there were some members who might want to study the creatures. They might disturb them or hurt them without realizing it. They might even think its okay to use the unicorn’s ability at times. They might keep a record that falls into the wrong hands one day. They might tell someone they trust but shouldn’t. Tim didn’t want to take the risk. 

He knew it was a lot to ask his friend though. It was never easy lying to people closest to you. It was never easy keeping secrets from your loved ones. Tim knew that all too well.

Conner nodded his agreement without any hesitation. “I think you’re right.” He looked in the direction he’d come from. “I should have seen you or heard your heartbeat _way_ before I did.” He looked up. “I flew over this spot dozens of times. 

“I kept stopping in the forest and listening for any sign of you.” He frowned lightly and shook his head. Then he looked at Tim again. “It was like you were hidden behind some kind of curtain and it was suddenly pulled away. That had to be them, right?”

Tim considered what he’d just been told. He supposed it made as much sense as any other explanation. After all, the artwork and mythology he’d considered earlier suggested people used to believe in such creatures. There had to be a reason why no one believed they existed anymore. “Them, or something that’s been guarding them.”

Conner looked a little wary as he glanced around the clearing as if checking for any mythical beasts or beings. Finally, finding none, he turned to Tim again. “Yeah. Either way, they helped you. The last thing I want to do is get them into any kind of trouble for it.”

He looked completely resolute in that. And what he said next. “I think this should stay between us.”

Tim smiled. “Thanks.”

His friend returned it. “Ready to go back?”

Tim definitely was. 

They touched town in an evacuated town several miles away a few minutes later. Conner immediately wrapped a protective arm around Tim and held his other arm out as if shielding him. Tim promptly reached for a Batarang in response, not sure what was coming, but he quickly saw Bart slow into focus as he stumbled against their friend’s raised arm. 

“Hey! What’s the big deal?” Bart frowned at Conner in confusion. 

“We’ve been over this.” Conner answered with a note of fond irritation that meant he truly had been over whatever point he was about to make several times with their friend. “No charging our human friend at ludicrous-speed. You’ll pulverize him.”

“Oh, right.” Bart scratched the back of his head. “Sorry, I got excited and forgot.” He looked at Tim. “You’re alive! Yay!” 

He quickly (but at a speed that would _not_ potentially crush his friend like a freight train) wrapped his arms around Tim and Conner, since he hadn’t had a chance to let go of the other boy yet. 

Then Cassie landed beside them and instantly threw her arms around all three boys. “I’m so glad you’re okay! And I’m _so_ sorry I dropped you! I tried to find you afterwards but by the time I got rid of the drones you were so far down you were like a little speck and I totally lost you-”

Tim managed to shift so he had a hand on Cassie’s arm (the other was hooked around Conner’s arm, since they’d both accepted the impromptu group hug) as he interrupted her kindly. “It wasn’t your fault, don’t worry about it. I was there; I know how crazy it was.” He moved to pull away to explain further, but his stronger than human friends didn’t budge. 

“Nope.” Conner spoke simply as he tightened the arm that was solely around Tim.

“Not done hugging.” Bart added. Despite how long staying still like that must have felt to him, he still hadn’t moved other than to shift so one arm was around Cassie as well when she joined them. 

“We thought you were dead. A ten second hug isn’t gonna cut it.” Cassie spoke with no apology in her tone now.

“Okay.” Tim settled in to be hugged for a good long while. He didn’t mind it in the least, either. They hadn’t been the only one’s to think he wasn’t going to survive that fall. He was as happy to be back with his friends as they apparently were to have him back. 

After the hug, they returned to Young Justice headquarters. While changing into his spare suit, Tim received an alert that the tracking software he’d programmed into their computer had located the source of the taunt-slash-unintentional-warning the villain sent previously. Tim saw a clear plan of how to catch him right away and the team headed off to see it through. Despite the earlier scare, everyone worked well together and they brought the culprit in with little hassle or attention. Red Tornado congratulated them on a job well done when he returned from his business with the Justice League. Superman and Wonder Woman had come back with him in order to check on Conner and Cassie, so Tim headed back to Gotham while Bart ran home to have dinner with Max.

Later that evening (technically, early the next morning), Tim was on patrol in Gotham. The unicorns had healed him well enough that he’d been able to do so normally. He’d stuck his damaged and dusted suit into the steamer built specifically for their suits in the Cave and started it up before checking in with Bruce to see what their night looked like. The man hadn’t questioned his health or ability to perform at all. 

Of course, the odds of Alfred _not_ finding the torn and possibly still bloodstained suit in the steam cleaner were slim to none, so Tim figured some questions would be coming later. That was okay, he was well versed in how to respond to well-meaning but unanswerable questions. He would tell Alfred about the bomb and the drones, but leave out the pegasi, unicorns, and pixies. For the time being, anyway. He trusted Alfred more than just about anyone, but he knew the man would likely want to address what had happened with Bruce and Tim wasn’t ready to try discussing the existence of unicorns with Batman yet. 

Just as he was making his way across a building a few hours before sunrise, he saw a familiar shadow behind him in the moonlight. He turned before Conner was close enough for him to hear the Kryptonian, but he knew his friend could hear him. It was unusual for Conner to show up in Gotham so late, so he was concerned. “Everything okay?”

Conner answered as soon as he was close enough. “Yeah. I just couldn’t sleep so I figured I’d hang with you for a while.”

“Cool.” While Batman might get a bit territorial even with his own best friend, Tim was always happy to have _his_ best friend around, despite the fact that he sometimes tended to leap without looking. “Crime seems to be slowing down for the night, but keep an ear out.” 

“No prob.” Conner looked Tim over. “Did Batman see your other suit?”

“No. I put it in the wash before he had a chance.” Tim knew his friend was really asking if Bruce knew what happened. He answered that question as well. “He made a comment that let me know he’s aware we’re the ones who handled the mess in Ecuador. He seemed approving, but he didn’t really say much.”

Tim gave a small shrug. His smile was calm and accepting. He hadn’t expected anything more from his mentor and he was genuinely happy for the note of approval he’d picked up in the stoic man’s tone. “You know how he is.”

“Yeah.” Conner sighed. He didn’t look nearly as happy about that as his friend. 

Tim knew Conner wanted Bruce to treat Tim more like Clark treated _him_ , but his friend had already learned that was a bit of a touchy subject. 

Tim loved Bruce like a father, but the man _wasn’t_ his father. It wouldn’t be fair to put that kind of pressure on him. It would be cruel to demand more than a partnership when he already had one son and had lost another. It would also be disrespectful to Jack. He might not be father-of-the-year material, but he was still Tim’s dad and he loved him as well. Tim wouldn’t want to hurt either man by doing or saying anything that suggested they hadn’t done enough for him. 

Tim was what he was largely because of the two men and he would always be grateful for everything they’d done for him. For everything they’d each taught him and every opportunity they’d given him. He wouldn’t be Robin if it weren’t for the two men (well, _four_ men, since Alfred and Dick definitely contributed just as much). He wouldn’t be able to help people the way he did and he loved being able to do that. He couldn’t ask for anything more.

Conner let the subject drop, and Tim’s mind returned to the mythical creatures he’d encountered earlier that day. He kept his gaze over Gotham, keeping a watch out for anything criminal or suspicious as he spoke to his best friend. “What else do you think is real?”

Conner laughed. He didn’t have to ask what his friend was talking about. “I have no idea. You’d think nothing would surprise me at this point, but I gotta say, unicorns threw me a bit.” 

He looked at Tim, trusting his superior hearing and sight would clue him in if anything went down in the city while he was helping his friend guard it. “So what exactly happened? With everything goin’ on, you never got to give me the whole story.”

That was true. With Tim being more or less fine and them locating the criminal behind the attack, he hadn’t been able to tell Conner all the details. Since they had time and privacy now, Tim filled him in on everything as his friend followed him across the dark city. They paused the conversation once in a while to stop a crime or inspect something, not wanting to get distracted or risk someone overhearing, but they got right back on track once the incident was taken care of. 

Conner looked a little upset when hearing about Tim waking up injured, but swiftly shook it as he focused on his friend’s recount of meeting the yearling pegasus and then the unicorns. Tim was quick to get the part about them healing him. 

“I always assumed the horn was supposed heal via magic, like a wand.” Conner mused after they left some would-be burglars handcuffed to an iron fence and Tim explained what he’d witnessed in regards to the shimmery dust Conner had found on him. “You’re saying it actually produces some sort of magic dust with healing properties?”

Tim answered as he put his grapple away. “As far as I could tell, yeah. The dust comes from their horns somehow and then they use their muzzles to spread it. Kind of like a duck spreading oil from it’s uropygial gland over its feathers. Only with magical healing instead of waterproofing.”

His friend looked a little puzzled by the explanation for a moment. When Tim raised his brows in question, Conner explained. “I didn’t know that was how ducks waterproof their feathers, but it makes sense.” He paused for a second as he looked like something clicked in his mind. “Both the ducks _and_ the analogy.”

Conner asked another question after Tim inspected a crime scene for Detective Bullock and then returned to the story to explain that pixies had made an appearance in the enchanted rain forest clearing as well. “Are we talking Tinker-Bell-style pixies or Fantasia-style pixies?”

Tim frowned. “What’s the difference?”

Conner rolled his eyes and shook his head as though he weren’t sure what to do with his friend. Then he elaborated the query. “Were they cute and wearing leaf clothing like little gnomes? Or were they kind of hot and nude like mini forest nymphs?”

“Uh, there wasn’t anything hot about them, but I guess more like the second?” Tim knew his slightly-older friend had a _much_ healthier sex drive than he did but he really didn’t see how anyone could consider pixies hot. “They weren’t wearing any clothes as far as I could tell, and I wouldn’t call them ‘cute’. They weren’t exactly human looking, either. Proportionately, they’d be thinner and narrower with longer limbs. Their skin tones matched different plants in the rain forest.”

Conner nodded, but looked slightly distracted. “Do you think forest nymphs are real, too?”

“Who knows?” If unicorns, pixies, pegasi, Martians, and werewolves were real, Tim certainly wasn’t going to discount any other creatures without good reason. Although he definitely didn’t find the possibility as intriguing as Conner appeared to. “Clean thoughts, Con.”

He smirked at his friend when he looked at him as though pulling himself out of a mild stupor. “No fetishizing the nymphs. How would you like it if someone only showed interest in you because of an alien fetish?”

Conner’s smirk was much more sultry than Tim’s and there was an amused gleam to his eyes. “That depends; is she hot and is she sane?” He paused and his expression grew less teasing. “By _our_ standards of sanity.”

Tim made a mental note to stick with Conner if they ever ended up in an area where there was a possibility of encountering forest nymphs. Or any other potentially attractive humanoid beings. Of course, he wasn’t the best judge at what was sexually attractive since he appeared to be either a late bloomer or some sort of sexual outlier. He didn’t want to think about that. He’d just stick close to his friend and if Conner started behaving like his hormones were overriding his mind, then he’d intervene. 

They continued their pixie discussion after they broke up a turf fight between a couple of the smaller gangs. Conner’s question suggested his mind was back on track after Tim continued explaining the behavior he’d witnessed from the creatures. “Wait, so pixie dust is really pegasus dust they harvest from them like magical suckerfish?”

“That’s what it looked like.” Tim shrugged, then thought for a moment. “They could have been using it for something else.”

Conner looked doubtful. “What else would the pegasus-dust-chinchilla-bath move be?” 

“They could carry the dust on their wings sort of like how bees gather pollen on themselves and take it back to the hive?” Tim shrugged again at his friend’s skeptical expression. “I’m just saying, I don’t know nearly enough about pixies to assume they were doing exactly what it looked like they were doing.”

“Can’t argue with that logic.” Conner grinned at the point and the discussion that lead to it. 

His amusement only grew later, when they sitting on the edge of Finger Tower as Tim finished explaining how the creatures left just before Conner found him.

“What’s so funny?” Tim wasn’t offended but he wasn’t sure what his friend was thinking either. 

“Its just…the unicorns were willing to show themselves to you but not me.” Conner offered a look that was slightly apologetic even as it remained amused. “You were trying to figure just why they were trying to help you. You _have_ to have heard about unicorns being drawn to virgins.”

Tim laughed quietly. “Virgin _maidens_ , Con. They used to bring virgin maidens on unicorn hunts. Never a squire or stable boy who happened to be a virgin, even though that would have made more sense from a logistics standpoint.”

Conner smiled and held up a finger. “You’re forgetting the guys who discovered those rules and went on the hunts were old-timey men. The world revolved around _them_ and when _they_ thought of attractive virgins, they just thought of beautiful young maidens.” He gave a half-shrug. “Not that anyone can blame them for wanting to bring a hot girl along on a hunt that could go on for days or weeks.”

Tim rolled his eyes at his friend. Conner just smiled and continued his line of thought. “But otherwise, they might have considered other options. Like bringing older spinster women or yeah, their virgin squires who’d actually had training that could help out in other ways, too.”

“That’s a good point.” Tim really did think his friend was onto something in claiming the maiden part of the equation might have been an assumption. “I guess we should also consider that they believed they could medically confirm if a girl was a virgin or not. With boys, they’d have to take their word for it.” He frowned lightly at the thought. The whole notion of the unicorn hunts was growing more disturbing the more he thought about it.

Then he considered something else. “Did they pay the virgins, or was it considered an honor?” Considering the times in question, Tim supposed the virgins probably hadn’t been given a choice anyway. Still, if there was any sort of compensation or honor attached to the role, then he supposed the kings and huntsmen in question might have wanted to play it safe in ensuring they’d truly brought a virgin along. Maybe the virgins had even consented to being checked. He hoped so, but he kind of doubted it.

Fortunately, his friend pulled his mind from that darker line of thinking. 

“Good question.” Conner looked thoughtful for a second and then shook his head. “No idea.” He grinned again. “But from now on, I’m totally assuming they just like virgins, like you.” 

Tim arched a brow at his friend. “Why do I tell you things?” He trusted Conner to catch the tint of amusement to his voice. 

In truth, he liked being able to talk to Conner about anything from his disinterest in sex, to his concerns about his father or Bruce, to the discovery of unicorns, to just normal things like a test at school or discovering a new band he liked. He felt like it was something he’d been missing in his life before they became friends; having someone he could to talk to about anything without it being embarrassing or attached to another secret or dismissed as unimportant. He liked being able to offer the same to his friend. 

Conner tossed an arm around Tim’s shoulders. “Because I’m awesome.” He chuckled at Tim’s dry expression and then looked moderately thoughtful. “Maybe they don’t like _all_ virgins. Maybe they just like people who are really pure and good. Congratulations, you’re one of the special ones.”

Tim offered his friend a wry grin. “Ha-ha.” 

“No, I mean it.” Sure enough, Conner looked sincere without sounding dramatic or too deep. “You really are pure, and not just in an old-fashioned virgin way. You just want to help people and make the world better. You don’t need any recognition for it. You don’t talk to the press or anyone like the rest of us sometimes do…and you never stop to flirt or showoff.”

Tim frowned lightly at the last comment. “Conner, just because you talk to the press or flirt and showoff sometimes doesn’t make you any less good. You didn’t fight a bunch of killer drones and fly a bomb out to the sun today for attention or recognition. No one was even there to see you or sing your praises. You did it anyway, because you wanted to save lives. You did it because you’re a hero.”

He was firm on that point but he also had another one he wanted to make. “Besides you were going to have a spotlight on you whether you liked it or not, with the way you started out. I’m glad you’re comfortable with it. It would suck if you had to deal with all that attention if you hated it.” 

Tim shook his head, thinking of all the fans and press his friend had to deal with at times. “ _I’d_ hate it. It would make everything harder.” He looked at his friend curiously. He was pretty sure Conner liked the attention for the most part, but he knew his friend had days where he didn’t want it. He never wanted Conner to feel like he had to be the poster boy for Young Justice or anything. 

“You know, it would be fine if you didn’t like all that either.” He offered his friend a light grin. “You don’t always have to be the cool superhero. We’d figure it out if ever you wanted to step out of the spotlight.”

“I know, and thanks, but I really do like it for the most part.” Conner smirked. “Guess that worked out well for us, then, huh?” He looked slightly pensive after a moment, possibly thinking of all the times he and Tim had teamed up, only for Tim to disappear before any press or authorities could arrive. Usually after encouraging Conner to take all the credit, which he happily did. 

They truly made an excellent team.

“Huh.” Conner looked thoughtful. “Maybe _that’s_ why the unicorns trusted you. I mean, even the A.P.E.S. agents aren’t sure if you really exist or if you’re an urban legend. Nevermind the people you protect every night here. You, the unicorns, the pegasuses, the pixies…you’re all myths in a way, trying to stay out of the world’s eye while you do some good in it.”

Tim arched a brow at his friend. He couldn’t help the amused lift at the corner of his lips. “You’re saying a bunch of mythical creatures found me relatable?” He laughed lightly. 

Conner joined him, but still gave a suggestive head tilt. “Well, they haven’t revealed themselves to anyone _else_ , have they?”

“Not that we’ve heard.” Tim let Conner have that but then made a point of his own. “But no one’s gonna hear that they revealed themselves to me, so who’s to say someone else isn’t keeping the same secret?”

Conner blinked. Then looked slightly amazed. “I never even thought of that.” He drew in his brows inquisitively. “Now I need to figure out a way to bug Superman about whether unicorns are real without giving away that I know they’re real.”

“Good luck with that.” Tim patted his friend’s arm. Then he yawned. It was still about an hour or so before he normally went to sleep, but he found himself feeling very tired. He wasn’t sure if it was just the day’s events in general or if the magically accelerated healing had taken more out of him than he’d expected. 

Conner echoed the yawn. “Man, I don’t know how you stay awake this long all the time.”

“You get used to it.” Tim stretched his back. While that was true, he knew he was probably pushing himself as much as was wise to at present. 

Conner made an noncommittal noise. Then he looked at Tim. “You don’t think you’ve done enough for one day already?” He smirked. “You aren’t worried the lack of sleep will stunt your growth or something?”

Tim huffed a quiet laugh, but then looked around. They hadn’t needed to pause to stop a crime in a bit and they had stopped plenty already. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to call it a night a little early just that once. He started getting up. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”

“You want a lift to the Bat-Cave or…” Conner stood and gestured over the city in general. “Wherever you’re staying tonight?” He didn’t actually know where Tim lived yet. He technically wasn’t supposed to know his real identity but they’d both quickly grown tired of that secret between them. They arranged for Conner to ‘accidentally’ learn it with his latest power developments. 

Tim didn’t regret that in the least. Neither did Conner. 

Still, Tim didn’t want to endanger anyone else by giving away where they lived. He also didn’t always go to the same place at the end of the night, something Conner was aware of. 

Sometimes, Tim slept at home. Sometimes he stayed at Wayne Manor or the Young Justice headquarters. The latter was usually if something was going on or his friends were staying there as well. But lately, he’d been staying at the Manor more nights than he needed to. He hated to admit it, even to Conner, but Tim found he slept better at the Manor or headquarters. He wasn’t sure why. 

Still, as long as he got to school on time during the week or left the Manor early enough to ensure Mrs Mac didn’t catch him just coming home on weekends, no one seemed to realize where he’d spent the night. Well, he suspected Alfred did, but the kind man never spoke against it. He’d actually wanted Tim to stay with them after Jack woke from his coma, so Tim was pretty sure the man didn’t mind having him around. Besides, if he stopped by the Cave first, he still wouldn’t be giving away anyone’s home address to Conner, who always dropped him at the far exit. 

Also he could get his suit out of the steamer if Alfred hadn’t already, or grab it from him to mend if he had. The less time Alfred had to study any proof of injuries that were more healed than they should be, the better for the unicorns. Besides, Tim didn’t want to worry Alfred any more than he already did. The poor man had enough to deal with. 

“I’m gonna stop by the Cave.” Tim would sleep at the Manor as well, but there was no need to point that out. He suspected Conner knew anyway. He smiled at his friend. “I’ll take the lift, if its not a problem. I know you’re usually home before now.”

Conner waved off the concern. “C’mon, it’ll take me an extra couple minutes to drop you off.” He motioned over his friend. “You ready?”

Tim wanted to look over the city once more, but he knew what would happen if he did. He’d see people walking around, unaware of the danger in doing so during the small hours or simply unable to avoid it. He’d want to push himself to patrol longer, but Conner was right. He’d done enough for one day and he wasn’t doing himself or anyone else any good if he forwent sleep to the point that it had a negative impact on him. He had to remind himself of that once in a while. Or get a reminder from someone who cared how he was doing. 

So instead, he looked at his friend and nodded. “Yeah.”

Tim didn’t have nice dreams often. While he had the occasional nightmare, he didn’t always have bad dreams. They were usually just odd and frequently stressful. More often than not, it seemed like his mind was simply too tired to dream. At least, he often had no awareness of having any upon waking.

That night, however, he dreamed of riding pegasi with his friends. It was fun. It was magical. It was exciting. It was relaxing. It was joyful. 

Upon waking, Tim felt refreshed instead of tired. Nothing was sore or achy. His mind wasn’t dwelling on anything he’d left undone or felt he hadn’t done as well as he could have the previous day. He thought he could get used to having dreams like that. He could also get used to living in a world where magic, heroism, and friendship all existed together like they did in the fairytales. 

It wasn’t what he’d expected, being a practical and very human detective. But life in general was turning out to be very different than he’d once expected. 

It was turning out so much better. 

When he started down this path, being Robin had meant helping people -helping Batman. It still did, but it turned out to come with quite a few unexpected hardships and benefits. For now, at least, the benefits were definitely more than worth any hardships. Considering the benefits included his friends, an honorary big brother, an awesome surrogate grandfather, and a second father (even if Tim would never outwardly describe him as such), he suspected they always would. And if the dark days ever seemed too dark, he’d always be able to remind himself that there were bright spots, too. 

Like a magical clearing hidden in the middle of dense rain forest. Or his best friend that would look until he found him in it. 

Or Alfred, waiting to have beans and toast with him before he took off for school. 

Sometimes being the Boy Wonder truly felt wonderful.


End file.
